This invention relates generally to gas turbine engine combustor liners, and more specifically to methods and apparatus for modeling gas turbine engine combustor liners.
A turbine engine includes a compressor for compressing air which is channeled to a combustor and mixed with fuel wherein the mixture is ignited within a combustion chamber for generating hot combustion gases. At least some known combustors include a nuggeted liner assembly which extends downstream from an inlet to a nozzle and defines a combustion chamber. A portion of the panels include cooling nuggets formed between adjacent panels, that extend radially outwardly or inwardly from the panels and away from the combustion chamber.
During engine development, combustor mock-ups are utilized to simulate and determine aerodynamic performance, heat transfer performance, and mechanical design performance. Such mock-ups are also used to simulate and perform profile and pattern factor development tests, and the data from such tests are used in improving the design, production, and tooling of the combustors.
Because of the complexity of the gas turbine engine combustor liners, the fabrication of the liners is often a complex and costly process. More specifically, at least some known combustor liners are fabricated from circumferential rings of material that are machined to provide a contoured surface that is representative of the combustor being tested. However, machining the combustor liners to provide the contoured surfaces may be a time-consuming, challenging, and laborious task.
In one aspect of the invention, a method for fabricating a three-dimensional turbine engine combustor liner model is provided. The method includes coupling at least a first member to a second member to form an assembly that has an inner surface that simulates an inner surface of the aircraft engine combustor liner. The first member is at least one of a pre-formed conical member and a preformed cylindrical member, and the second portion is at least one of a pre-formed conical member and a pre-formed cylindrical member. The method also includes coupling the assembly to a baseplate, and coupling a plurality of templates to the assembly.
In another aspect, a combustor liner model is provided for producing test data representative of a gas turbine engine combustor. The model includes a plurality of members coupled together. The members include at least a first panel member and a second panel member. The first panel member is fabricated from at least one of a pre-formed metallic cylinder section and a pre-formed metallic conical section, and includes an inner surface and an outer surface. The second panel member is fabricated from at least one of a pre-formed metallic conical section and a pre-formed metallic cylindrical portion, and includes an inner surface and an outer surface. The first panel member is coupled to the second panel member such that the first panel member and second panel member inner surfaces simulate an inner surface of the modeled gas turbine engine combustor.
In a further aspect, a method for modeling a gas turbine engine combustor liner is provided. The method includes coupling a first member including at least one of a pre-formed cylindrical member and a pre-formed conical member to a spacer, coupling a second member including at least one of a pre-formed cylindrical member and a pre-formed conical member to the spacer to form an assembly that has an inner surface that simulates an inner surface of the gas turbine engine combustor liner, wherein the spacer is between the first and second members, and coupling the assembly to a baseplate, such that the assembly extends substantially perpendicularly from the baseplate.